This section is intended to provide a background or context to the invention that is recited in the claims. The description herein may include concepts that could be pursued, but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived, implemented or described. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to the description and claims in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
HetNet mobility enhancements have been an ongoing study item for some time. One focus of this effort has been an improvement in network deployments in which there is a mix of macro cells (e.g., conventional large area cellular network cells supported by a base station (BS) or a NodeB or an evolved NodeB (eNB)) and small cells (e.g., picocells). For Release 12 (Rel-12) 3GPP has also begun to consider small cell enhancements that can overlap to some extent HetNet technologies and procedures.
The presence of network deployments in which there can be a mix of macro cells and small cells, operating either on the same carrier or on a different carrier as a serving (macro) cell, introduces challenges with respect to at least mobility performance, load balancing and offloading.